24 Gifts Of 2008 - #18 - With You I Am Home (Ryan/Isabella, Superstar!Verse)
This is a completely new Ryan/Isabella universe. I'm actually kinda surprised I've never seen a fic that has Ryan with this particular profession... it seems so obvious...
Title comes from the song 'Home' by Vanessa Carlton.
Oh! And Sophie Rose is about 12 or so in this, and Ryan is about 30.
"You're child is kicking me again," Isabella said as she pushed herself up out of bed, hands resting on her stomach.
"Why's it my fault?" Ryan replied, rolling over and tugging up the covers to hide his grin.
"Because I am calm and dignified, while you are a soccer superstar?" Isabella replied, mocking the reporter from the other night.
Ryan groaned and rolled over to face his wife. "Am I ever gonna live that down?" he asked. "It's not like I called myself a 'soccer superstar'." Then he tilted his head, the grin returning. "Calm and dignified, huh?" he asked.
"What, precisely, is that suppose to mean?" Isabella asked, hands on her hips.
"Weren't you pouring a beer over a woman's head when we met?" Ryan asked.
"I found it highly insulting to my entire gender that she was groping you in the middle of a public place," Isabella said. "Besides, you looked in need of rescue."
"I am not, never have been, and never will be, a damsel in distress," Ryan said, trying to look offended and angry, but obviously failing miserably as Isabella laughed and headed for the bathroom.
"Of course not, darling," she said.
Ryan let out a dramatic sigh, smiling as he heard her laugh again, then got up to get changed for his morning run. His Agent, not to mention his coach and teammates, would kill him if he slept in too many times, and he was saving those days up for use with the 'the baby kept me up' excuse so he could really spend mornings cuddling with Isabella, Robbie, and the baby.
~~~
"Since when is it appropriate to grope the ass of not only a man who doesn't know you, but a man you know is married?" Ryan asked Seth when they met up for coffee that afternoon.
"Was she hot?"
"He had more muscles than the Governor," Ryan replied through gritted teeth. He shot a glare at his brother as Seth snickered. "Yuck it up. Just remember than next time one of your comic geek friends stares at Isa's chest, I'm letting her dump her steaming hot beverage all over them and their comics."
"You wouldn't?" Seth asked.
Ryan just lifted an eyebrow, then immediately smiled as a girl in a soccer uniform came up to him, looking hopeful. "Hi," he said.
"Can I have an autograph?" the girl asked, holding out a school notebook.
"Sure," Ryan said, passing his coffee to Seth and signing the inside of the cover. 'My little sister plays soccer, too. Harbor Pirates."
"We're playing them today!" the girl said.
"Well, let's keep it between you and me that I signed this for you, okay?" Ryan said, smiling at the girl and her dad, who looked more awestruck than the girl.
"Okay," the girl said, taking the notebook back and hugging it to her chest.
"I'd wish you luck with your game, but..." Ryan added.
"If your sister is half as amazing as you, I'll need it," the girl said before running offer to show her mom.
"She's a huge fan," the dad said, nodding with wide eyes.
Ryan nodded in return, waiting a moment to see if the dad was leaving before smiling again. "You think maybe you should get her a back up autograph in case someone takes that one?" he suggested, trying to give the guy a non-embarassing way of getting his own.
"Yes! Yes, absolutely, you never know what kids'll do..." the dad said, nodding.
"Right," Ryan agreed, grabbing a napkin to sign. "Have a good day," he said as he took his coffee back and left with Seth. "This is completely insane," he said.
"You knew what you were getting into when you became a big soccer superstar," Seth said with a smirk.
"Hey," Ryan said warningly. "My pregnant wife can mock me about that, not you."
"Ah, come on..." Seth protested.
"Keep it up and that limited edition in your bag?" Ryan said, gesturing. "Will smell really good," he concluded, lifting his coffee up and tilting it slightly to get the point across.
~~~
"You're not fooling anybody, you know," Sophie Rose said as she ran up to Ryan in his baseball cap and sunglasses. "Everybody knows it's you."
"Yeah, but they're less likely to demand pictures and autographs if they can tell I'm trying to keep a low profile," Ryan said, trying to sound like he believed it.
"Keep telling yourself that, Ry," Sophie Rose said, throwing her arms around his neck. "Love you, big brother."
"Love you, too, baby sister," he said. "Now go kick ass."
"Always," Sophie replied, letting go to turn and jog back towards the rest of her team.
Ryan climbed the bleachers to sit with Sandy, Kirsten, Isabella, and Robbie. "How'd things go at the gallery?" he asked his wife as 4 year-old Robbie clammered into his lap.
"3 more requests for a Robert Collins Show," Isabella said.
"No time," Ryan replied with a sigh. "He's a busy man, gotta support his family somehow, and painting doesn't pay the bills."
"It's a good fall back for a frugal man, though," Isabella said, taking his hand.
Ryan smiled and put an arm around her shoulders, the other hand lightly brushing over her stomach, smiling as Robbie echoed the movement. "Baby behaving?"
"Except for more kicking, yes," Isabella said, leaning against him. "Our girl will be as big a star as her daddy."
"Only if she wants to be, same as Robbie," Ryan replied, kissing her cheek and smiling as he felt a kick against his hand and saw Robbie's eyes light up.
"No kicking, baby," Robbie scolded in his tiny voice.
Isabella smiled at her son, ruffling his hair. "I think she listened," she said.
"She knows her brother's a smart guy," Ryan agreed. Down on the field, the game began, and soon Ryan was on his feet, cheering his sister on while his son jumped up and down on the bench beside him, yelling at the top of his lungs. Despite the fact that his fans and the media wanted to make his life about his career, it was times like these, when he was with his family, being completely normal and boring, that he truly felt at peace.
The End
I'm tempted to call this the 'Superstar!Verse' just because it IS something of a recurring joke in the story, that Ryan is constantly cvalled a 'Soccer Superstar' and he's embarassed by the description. Picture him as having like David Beckham level fame, where even those who aren't soccer fans usually know exactly who he is and lust after him (although Ryan is infinitely hotter than Beckham, IMHO... lol)
Title comes from the song 'Home' by Vanessa Carlton.
Oh! And Sophie Rose is about 12 or so in this, and Ryan is about 30.
"You're child is kicking me again," Isabella said as she pushed herself up out of bed, hands resting on her stomach.
"Why's it my fault?" Ryan replied, rolling over and tugging up the covers to hide his grin.
"Because I am calm and dignified, while you are a soccer superstar?" Isabella replied, mocking the reporter from the other night.
Ryan groaned and rolled over to face his wife. "Am I ever gonna live that down?" he asked. "It's not like I called myself a 'soccer superstar'." Then he tilted his head, the grin returning. "Calm and dignified, huh?" he asked.
"What, precisely, is that suppose to mean?" Isabella asked, hands on her hips.
"Weren't you pouring a beer over a woman's head when we met?" Ryan asked.
"I found it highly insulting to my entire gender that she was groping you in the middle of a public place," Isabella said. "Besides, you looked in need of rescue."
"I am not, never have been, and never will be, a damsel in distress," Ryan said, trying to look offended and angry, but obviously failing miserably as Isabella laughed and headed for the bathroom.
"Of course not, darling," she said.
Ryan let out a dramatic sigh, smiling as he heard her laugh again, then got up to get changed for his morning run. His Agent, not to mention his coach and teammates, would kill him if he slept in too many times, and he was saving those days up for use with the 'the baby kept me up' excuse so he could really spend mornings cuddling with Isabella, Robbie, and the baby.
~~~
"Since when is it appropriate to grope the ass of not only a man who doesn't know you, but a man you know is married?" Ryan asked Seth when they met up for coffee that afternoon.
"Was she hot?"
"He had more muscles than the Governor," Ryan replied through gritted teeth. He shot a glare at his brother as Seth snickered. "Yuck it up. Just remember than next time one of your comic geek friends stares at Isa's chest, I'm letting her dump her steaming hot beverage all over them and their comics."
"You wouldn't?" Seth asked.
Ryan just lifted an eyebrow, then immediately smiled as a girl in a soccer uniform came up to him, looking hopeful. "Hi," he said.
"Can I have an autograph?" the girl asked, holding out a school notebook.
"Sure," Ryan said, passing his coffee to Seth and signing the inside of the cover. 'My little sister plays soccer, too. Harbor Pirates."
"We're playing them today!" the girl said.
"Well, let's keep it between you and me that I signed this for you, okay?" Ryan said, smiling at the girl and her dad, who looked more awestruck than the girl.
"Okay," the girl said, taking the notebook back and hugging it to her chest.
"I'd wish you luck with your game, but..." Ryan added.
"If your sister is half as amazing as you, I'll need it," the girl said before running offer to show her mom.
"She's a huge fan," the dad said, nodding with wide eyes.
Ryan nodded in return, waiting a moment to see if the dad was leaving before smiling again. "You think maybe you should get her a back up autograph in case someone takes that one?" he suggested, trying to give the guy a non-embarassing way of getting his own.
"Yes! Yes, absolutely, you never know what kids'll do..." the dad said, nodding.
"Right," Ryan agreed, grabbing a napkin to sign. "Have a good day," he said as he took his coffee back and left with Seth. "This is completely insane," he said.
"You knew what you were getting into when you became a big soccer superstar," Seth said with a smirk.
"Hey," Ryan said warningly. "My pregnant wife can mock me about that, not you."
"Ah, come on..." Seth protested.
"Keep it up and that limited edition in your bag?" Ryan said, gesturing. "Will smell really good," he concluded, lifting his coffee up and tilting it slightly to get the point across.
~~~
"You're not fooling anybody, you know," Sophie Rose said as she ran up to Ryan in his baseball cap and sunglasses. "Everybody knows it's you."
"Yeah, but they're less likely to demand pictures and autographs if they can tell I'm trying to keep a low profile," Ryan said, trying to sound like he believed it.
"Keep telling yourself that, Ry," Sophie Rose said, throwing her arms around his neck. "Love you, big brother."
"Love you, too, baby sister," he said. "Now go kick ass."
"Always," Sophie replied, letting go to turn and jog back towards the rest of her team.
Ryan climbed the bleachers to sit with Sandy, Kirsten, Isabella, and Robbie. "How'd things go at the gallery?" he asked his wife as 4 year-old Robbie clammered into his lap.
"3 more requests for a Robert Collins Show," Isabella said.
"No time," Ryan replied with a sigh. "He's a busy man, gotta support his family somehow, and painting doesn't pay the bills."
"It's a good fall back for a frugal man, though," Isabella said, taking his hand.
Ryan smiled and put an arm around her shoulders, the other hand lightly brushing over her stomach, smiling as Robbie echoed the movement. "Baby behaving?"
"Except for more kicking, yes," Isabella said, leaning against him. "Our girl will be as big a star as her daddy."
"Only if she wants to be, same as Robbie," Ryan replied, kissing her cheek and smiling as he felt a kick against his hand and saw Robbie's eyes light up.
"No kicking, baby," Robbie scolded in his tiny voice.
Isabella smiled at her son, ruffling his hair. "I think she listened," she said.
"She knows her brother's a smart guy," Ryan agreed. Down on the field, the game began, and soon Ryan was on his feet, cheering his sister on while his son jumped up and down on the bench beside him, yelling at the top of his lungs. Despite the fact that his fans and the media wanted to make his life about his career, it was times like these, when he was with his family, being completely normal and boring, that he truly felt at peace.
The End
I'm tempted to call this the 'Superstar!Verse' just because it IS something of a recurring joke in the story, that Ryan is constantly cvalled a 'Soccer Superstar' and he's embarassed by the description. Picture him as having like David Beckham level fame, where even those who aren't soccer fans usually know exactly who he is and lust after him (although Ryan is infinitely hotter than Beckham, IMHO... lol)